Update On My 39 Goals For My 39th Year List

I don't believe in "bucket lists."  When someone says that they have an activity on their bucket list, that means that they would love to do it but don't really want to plan it or push themselves to do what it takes to accomplish the goal.  Because really, there is no guarantee that we will live long enough to have the time to do all it is we would like to do if there isn't some sort of planning involved.  To me, a bucket list is the to do list that never gets completed and will die with you.  Because most of the time, it's in your head anyway and not written down.

There is something to writing your goals down.  I didn't want to at first, but once I did, I felt accountable to complete them.  On top of that, I posted them here on the blog so every now and then I will get reminders asking where I stand on certain goals.

If you have a blog or facebook, I would challenge you to post your goals to hold yourself accountable for them.  You will be amazed on how people will help you achieve them or push you to get them done. Even if that doesn't happen, they will be top of mind and for some of my goals, I did them without thinking.

Keep a mixture of goals that you can do in a day and some that would take some planning.  That way, you won't be discouraged if each goal is a tremendous feat.

So as you now know, I wrote down and posted 39 goals on January 5th that I wanted to accomplish during my 39th year on this earth.  I blogged about each accomplishment for a while when I completed a goal but for some reason, I stopped doing that. I thought I would post a brief status on where I stand on each of the goals I set out to accomplish this year.

39 things I will do for my 39th year in this world:

-Read 5 books from beginning to end without skipping ahead
This might sound easy, but I have a hard time focusing on reading a book.  My mind tends to wander a bit but there've been a few books that kept my focus and I would recommend both.   I have completed "When things fall apart" by Pema Chodron and "Leave the Light On" by Jennifer Storm.  "When things fall apart" was handed to me to borrow from a friend and I picked up "Leave the light on" at a book store in Proviencetown.  I loved them both!  I love stories of addiction and recovery and books on how to be a better person.  I prefer Non-Fiction over Fiction.


- Win one photo contest
I haven't won a photo contest, but I was fortunate enough to be chosen for a few juried art shows this year.  Once at MOPLA and the other at a juried art show at the 1650 Gallery in Los Angeles.  I have found that a big key to winning a contest is actually entering one.  


- Go skiing at least once this season
Um...not yet.

- Take a picture of Max in the snow
Completed! On the drive to Yosemite, we saw snow and I remembered my goal so I placed him on the snow mound to take a shot.  I didn't get the best picture and he didn't have the best time but, CHECK! Goal completed.


- Go to a tattoo show
Not yet - However I love tattoo art and photograph it wherever I see it.


- Publish a travel article
Looking back...I am not sure why I wrote this goal.  I have been traveling and away from my home since June and have been blogging about my experiences so I could technically say that each time I post is a published travel article.

- Sleep on a strangers couch
Completed! I have a few examples for this one and only one was an actually couch.  I met 4 people for the first time face to face so far on this trip.  Deb and Kim in Canada, Lauren in Montana and Amy in Ohio.  With these visits I slept in an Airstream, a couch and the floor.  

- Skinny dip in the ocean
Um, no but jumped in the ocean off the coast Maine in October.  That's even more challenging, right?

- Try indoor skydiving
Not yet


- Complete my house project with 5 shots together in a custom frame
I visited the Race Point ranger station again in Ptown this year, but didn't document it like I did the following year.  I still plan to group these shots together.

- Sell or donate everything in my garage
Before I left, I donated all of my work clothes and suits to a non profit group called "Clothes the Deal."  There are others such as "Dress for Success."  I would recommend doing this if you have nice quality dress clothes to donate to a good cause.  I still have work to do in the garage when I return.

- Host a dinner party
Since I haven't been home, this will have to wait.

- Take an art class
I look forward to doing this soon

- Wear a dress and go somewhere fancy
Um, no not yet.

- Spend a weekend without a phone, without texting, watching tv, or any kind of human contact
As much as I've wanted to do this, I haven't as of yet.  There have been times where I didn't have cell reception, but there were other campers around so I don't think it counts.

- Watch a local play production
Completed!  I went to see "Caberet" in Boston.  Wonderful.  No photographs allowed.

- Go to Mexico
Not yet.

- Run in a 5k race
Not yet.

- Go to a music festival
Not yet.

- Rent my home and live next to the water somewhere
Completed!  I've been renting my house the entire time I've been gone and this is one of the reasons I am able to do what I do.  It just happened to turn out that I was able to stay in a beautiful home on Bailey Island, Maine because of two very generous people, Adam and Susan.

- Spend time on an island
Yes.  See above. :)

- Take pictures underwater
I finally pulled out my one time use waterproof camera and took a few pics.  Since it's film, I will have to wait and see how it turns out.

- Win the lottery (you never know...)
I know...um, no.

- Volunteer
Not yet

- View a live show taping (preferably Oprah before she leaves)
Not Yet

- Write a book review
I'm not sure why I put this as a goal, but I did.  Once I finish my five books, I will post a review on one of them.

- Surf again
Not yet

- Ride on a train
I planned to take the train into Boston a few weeks ago but as it turned out, I was waiting on the wrong side and on the wrong tracks.  So, I saw the train I was supposed to ride on.  Instead, I visited the Museum of Bad Art.



- Take a long road trip (I think this is becoming a habit)
Currently in progress.


Last but not least...these are goals I completed at the beginning of the year that I've already blogged about.  You can click on them to see the blog. 
-Have my photographs displayed in a cafe'
- Bake a cake
- Take Max out on a camping trip with "trailie"

- Visit the Salton Sea

- Paint with something other than watercolors

- See SIA in concert

- Get a photo published somewhere

- Take a photography editing class

- Launch a site to sell photographs

 Spend a week in a cabin in the woods somewhere

Since these were written, I have had many other small goals that I've completed and some that am thinking about putting on a list for next year.  

I wouldn't call it a goal but one of the biggest decisions I've made for my life was living it without alcohol.  It's been over eighteen months now and it has been the best gift I've given myself.  It's not an easy road by any means, in fact it can be painful.  I have to say that my life has changed dramatically for the better because of it.  For those of you searching and wondering if you can live your life without it, you can.  You might lose friends, invitations, weight, and headaches but what you will gain is so much more valuable and precious...a meaningful life.

What are you going to do with yours?

We Can Do It Too!

I love stories of women achieving their dreams.  There really isn't anything we can't do once we put our mind to it.  We are so fortunate in America to be able to do what we want to do.  We can set forth and achieve any goal we wish with hard work and determination, unlike many women in other countries.

At this moment, 16 year old Abby Sunderland is setting sail to reach her personal goal; to sail around the world solo.  You can read about her journey on her blog by clicking here.

How inspiring to young women!  She realized her dream and is living it at such a young age. Also, how great is it that her parents are supportive of that?  At 16, I was crossing my fingers and hoping to pass classes so I could graduate high school.

I always played sports growing up and my family enjoyed camping together when I was young.  I have one brother who is 7 years older so as I child I learned how to entertain myself and explore on my own.  It could be a reason why I enjoy wandering and exploring new places today, at 38.  It's just inside of me.

The thing is...it's never too late to do what you have always dreamed of doing.  I have to admit that it is easier for me since I chose not to have kids.  Instead, I worked right out of college and continued to work hard and climb a corporate ladder until I just couldn't stand it anymore.  The suits and heels weren't me.  I was pushing a product that didn't inspire or excite me.  Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for the opportunity I had and I learned a lot in the process but even as I left the company, most people knew and commented that the job just wasn't a reflection of who I was.

Who am I?  Well, I am a work in progress, as we all are.  I know that I am enjoying taking pictures and traveling.  Camping and being in nature rank high on my list of things that bring me joy.  As I mentioned with a previous blog, I met up with a group of strangers with one thing in common: we all had silver trailers and a love of the outdoors and camping.  A common topic of discussion among the group was how great it was for them to ditch their "normal" lives to come and spend a weekend with other women to talk about ideas, life and support each other with the belief of yes, we can do it too!  There were stories of how men would be in control of hitching and towing and that they never had the chance to do it or the opportunity to learn how to do it.  This was their chance to learn something new, feel empowered and leave with a sense of hope that they can achieve anything they set their mind to.

I am thankful to all of the women who paved the way for title 9 so I was able to have the opportunity to play basketball in college.  There are so many women who stuck their neck out to be trailblazers for a realization that yes, we can do it too.

I started a group on facebook for women who have a shared interest in camping and the outdoors.  If this is you, please click here to join (there is also a widget on the right of the blog).  No fees, just fun.

Today I am thankful for all of the women who took a chance so we are able to do the same.

Award Winning Photographs

Lately, I have been enjoying crossing off things off of my goal list for the year.  One of them is to win a photo contest.  I suppose that the first step is actually entering a contest in order to win it.  I have to admit that I am a bit intimidated when I see so many amazingly beautiful photographs submitted in a contest when I only use a point and click camera and don't use photoshop or lightroom.  The task of entering can seem a little daunting and pointless.

After thinking about it for a while...I wondered what really constitutes an "award winning photograph?"  I think anything that is displayed on your wall or on a shelf at home would be an award winner.  It doesn't have to be the best photograph, just one that brings up memories that you are proud of or that you will cherish forever.

The day you graduated from high school, a family reunion, the day your child was born, the picture of you after you completed a race....all moments in time to be proud of.  All award winners.  Even if you are not in the photograph, it could be the beach you spent your summers on as a child, the city you fell in love in, the house you bought from working half of your life to afford.  All winners.

We are drawn to images that stir up feelings. Whether or not they win prizes, it's really the memory that means the most to us.  I would love to see your personal award winning photographs.  I hope you post it to my facebook fan page for others to see.  Click HERE to post.

For me, I will always have photographs of the places I've been to and the people in my life that I will cherish forever.  Those are my personal award winners.

Goal Completed: Bake a Cake

I know it may sound hard to believe, but I don't ever remember baking a cake.  Because of that severe lack of experience, I put it on my list of 39 goals to achieve this year.  Perhaps a simple task to most. For me, it seemed like something I would have to mentally gear up for.  I didn't specify that I was going to achieve this by baking a cake from scratch, so I did it the easier way...by way of a box mix.


The cake was a gift for my best friend's birthday.  Earlier in the week, I asked him what his favorite flavor of cake was.  He said German chocolate cake so I was relieved to find that exact flavor at the store.  A bonus was that they sold frosting for it on the next shelf!  I studied the box to learn that I also had to buy oil and eggs.  Remember, first time...

I had a day to mentally prepare for the cake bake off.

Today I was ready to make the magic happen.  I got all of the ingredients out and read the directions over and over.  More like, step 1,2,3...back to 1...then 2...

I was thrilled to see the photograph of a child and mother having such a wonderful time together on the box making this cake. They look so happy.

This is going to be fun!

I searched and searched for a measuring cup.  I swear that I had two at some point.  Today, they are nowhere to be found.  I know that I need exact measurements and couldn't just guess what a third of a cup looks like in a coffee mug.

Low and behold I found a blender with measure lines.  That'll work!  I measured, threw everything in a bowl and mixed it up.

 Glancing back at the photograph of the child while I was mixing...I didn't feel that excited in the process as she was. Maybe because she had measuring cups.

What are they so happy about?

Anyway, I poured the mix in a pan and baked it up.  I didn't have a toothpick so I used a match to test to see if it was ready.

I am not sure if it was ready (a small amount of batter was left on the stick) but I just assumed it was.  I'm sure the happy little girl had a toothpick.

The box told me to cool it for 10 minutes.  I let it cool for 4 hours. There is no way it would be cool in 10 minutes!  Not even close!

I spread the frosting and used some cocktail animals I found in the garage to decorate.

Voila!

A cake is born.

It was tasty.  Glad I put that experience under my belt.  I am so proud that I can hold my head up high and say, "why yes, I have baked a cake" in conversation in this highly discussed topic.  On to the next experience...